For six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of complete rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on that day must be put to death.
Parallel translations
- WEB ‘Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of solemn rest to Yahweh: whoever does any work in it shall be put to death.
- KJV Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.
- NKJV Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.
- NASB “For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, a Sabbath of complete rest to the Lord; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.
- NLT You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the Lord. Anyone who works on that day must be put to death.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Before the building begins, Moses reaffirms the Sabbath as a holy day of rest, on pain of death.
Overview
Even the sacred work of constructing the tabernacle must not override the Sabbath rest, placing worship and rest above religious activity. The severe penalty marked the Sabbath as a sign of the covenant. This priority of rest over works points to the gospel truth that we are saved not by our labors but by resting in Christ's finished work (Hebrews 4:9-10).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Luke 13:14–15But the synagogue leader was indignant that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. “There are six days for work,” he told the crowd. “So come and be healed on those days and not on the Sabbath.”
- Lev 23:3For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a day of sacred assembly. You must not do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD.
- Num 15:32–36While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day.
- Exod 20:9–10Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
- Exod 34:21Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in the seasons of plowing and harvesting, you must rest.
- Exod 31:13–16“Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep My Sabbaths, for this will be a sign between Me and you for the generations to come, so that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
- Heb 10:28–29Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
- Exod 23:12For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the son of your maidservant may be refreshed, as well as the foreign resident.
- Deut 5:12–15Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.
- Heb 2:2–3For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every transgression and disobedience received its just punishment,
- John 5:16Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews began to persecute Him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 35:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.